Blue Devils Tripped Up by Louisville, 70-62

Thursday, February 20

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

20-7,11-4ACC

Louisville

19-7,12-3ACC

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Blue Devils Tripped Up by Louisville, 70-62

2/20/2025 9:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Coach Lawson Presser Duke Quotes (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – Louisville outscored 11th-ranked Duke 10-2 in the final 3:09 to hand the Blue Devils their first home loss of the season, 70-62, in ACC women's basketball action in Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday evening.

Sophomore Oluchi Okananwa paced Duke offensively with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Reigan Richardson finished in double digits with 10 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Jadyn Donovan and Delaney Thomas both pulled down seven boards apiece.

Duke shot 50 percent from the floor, but an 18-point difference from the charity stripe helped lift the Cardinals to victory. Louisville was 22-of-25 from the free throw line while Duke went 4-of-4. The Cardinals also buried 50 percent (6-of-12) of their three pointers in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke held a 14-13 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play. Taina Mair paced the Blue Devil offense during the quarter with six points on 3-of-3 shooting while Donovan added four of her own to go with five boards and three blocks.
Okananwa opened the second-quarter scoring with a bucket in transition and Ashlon Jackson followed with a mid-range jumper shortly afterwards.
The Cardinals came out firing and netted seven unanswered to surge ahead, 23-18, forcing a Duke timeout. A 7-2 counter by the Blue Devils, featuring five points from Okananwa, pulled the home team within three, 28-25, at the 3:16 mark.
Louisville created some separation again and took an eight-point lead on Jayda Curry's triple with just under 30 seconds to play. The Blue Devils responded with a quick bucket of their own as Mair drove the lane and dropped a pass to Thomas, who laid it in just before the buzzer to bring Duke within six, 35-29, at the break.
Duke outscored the Cardinals, 16-10, in the third period, including a 6-0 run to close the frame. Richardson drained a jumper, Okananwa converted in transition and Donovan cashed in from the left corner in the final seconds to level the score at 45-all heading into the fourth. Defensively, the Blue Devils held the visitors without a point for the final three minutes of the quarter and forced five Louisville blunders.
Louisville took a five point lead early in the fourth but a 7-0 response by the Blue Devils pushed them ahead, 54-52. Jackson drilled a trifecta from the top of the key to draw Duke even, before taking the lead on a pair of Okananwa freebies.
The teams traded points across the remainder of regulation with the Duke scoring coming by way of Toby Fournier, Okananwa (4) and Richardson. The Cardinals were able to keep the Blue Devils at bay, sinking 12 free throws down the stretch to lock down the eight-point victory.

NOTES:

Duke shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field, marking the 11th time this season the Blue Devils have shot 50 percent or higher.
Duke held Louisville below its season scoring average (73.5), marking the 14th ACC team and 22nd foe overall held below their respective scoring average.
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Cardinals, 30-28, and finished with the advantage in points in the paint (36-28) and off the bench (23-10).
The Blue Devils shot 70 percent from the floor in the second quarter - good for 10th all-time in program lore.
Duke forced a pair of shot clock violations to push its season total to 36 violations forced.
Oluchi Okananwa reached double-figures for the 14th time this season as she finished her evening with 17 points along with two rebounds and a steal.
Reigan Richardson added 10 points (5-of-9), four caroms and three dimes. Richardson has now reached double-digits 12 times in 2024-25.
Jadyn Donovan posted five rebounds and three blocks in the first quarter. The three rejections is tied for second all-time at Duke while the five caroms is tied for eighth-most in program lore. She finished her night with seven boards while chipping in eight points as well.
Delaney Thomas added eight points and seven rebounds, the latter marking her 15th game this season with at least five rebounds.
Taina Mair had her hands all over the statsheet with eight points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

UP NEXT:
No. 11 Duke welcomes Syracuse to Cameron Indoor Stadium for an ACC matinee Sunday, Feb. 23 during the Blue Devils' alumni weekend. The action is slated to get going at 2 p.m., live on The CW.

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